基于网络药理学和分子对接技术探讨黄芪干预腹膜纤维化的机制

目的 运用网络药理学方法及分子对接技术探讨黄芪干预腹膜纤维化的可能机制。方法 利用中药系统药理学数据库及分析平台(TCMSP)检索黄芪的主要化学成分及靶点,并补充文献报道相关药理作用的成分作为潜在活性成分。以"peritoneal fibrosis"为关键词分别在OMIM、Genecards获取目前已知的与腹膜纤维化相关的疾病靶点,后取两者的交集靶点;对交集基因通过STRING数据库与Cytoscape 3.7.2软件构建"药物-成分-靶点-疾病"网络及蛋白互作(PPI)网络并筛选核心网络。基于R软件使用Bioconductor生物信息软件对核心靶点进行GO及KEGG富集分析,最终采用AutoDock软件将主要有效成分与核心靶点进行分子对接,得出其结合能力。结果 筛选出20个黄芪活性成分及文献报道有相关药理作用4个, 457药物作用靶点,与674个腹膜纤维化病靶点取交集,得到86个共同靶点。GO功能富集分析提示黄芪拮抗腹膜纤维化主要参与了蛋白激酶B信号转导的调节、细胞对化学的应激反应、炎症反应的调节等通路; KEGG通路富集分析主要涉及调控肿瘤、磷脂酰肌醇-3-羟激酶-蛋白激酶B(PI3K-Akt)、晚期糖基化终末产物/晚期糖基化终末产物受体(AGE-RAGE)、人类巨细胞病毒感染、HIF-1信号通路等;分子对接结果显示关键靶点与活性成分具有较好的结合能力。结论 黄芪治疗腹膜纤维化的分子机制,可能与抑制炎症及氧化应激反应、调节多种信号通路等相关。     

基于雨课堂的临床流行病学教学改革与实践

目的探讨雨课堂在临床流行病学教学中的作用和效果。方法采用随机对照法在本科阶段无流行病学学习经历的临床专业硕士研究生中,使用雨课堂线上课前预习及课后随堂练习的功能,用于评价雨课堂线上功能的辅助教学效果。结果应用雨课堂线上功能干预组与对照组在基线、阶段小测和末考卷面成绩均无统计学差异;但对于主动学习,雨课堂参与度较高的学生成绩提高明显。结论雨课堂有利于理论性较强课程的学习,但是仍不能忽略课堂教学师生互动过程。     

Microinjection of a growth factor cocktail affects activated microglia in the neocortex of adult rats

Microglia, as the resident immune cells in the central nervous system, play important roles in regulating neuronal processes, such as neural excitability, synaptic activity, and apoptotic cell clearance. Growth factors can activate multiple signaling pathways in central nervous system microglia and can regulate their immune effects, but whether growth factors can affect the morphological characteristics and ultrastructure of microglia has not been reported. After microinjecting 300 nL of a growth factor cocktail, including 10 μg/mL epidermal growth factor, 10 μg/mL basic fibroblast growth factor, 10 μg/mL hepatocyte growth factor and 10 μg/mL insulin-like growth factor into adult rat cortex, we found that the number of IBA1-positive microglia around the injection area increased significantly, indicating local activation of microglia. All CD68-positive labeling co-localized with IBA1 in microglia. Cell bodies and protrusions of CD68-positive cells were strongly attached to or were engulfing neurons. Characteristic huge phagosomes were observed in activated phagocytes by electron microscopy. The phagosomes generally included non-degraded neuronal protrusions and mitochondria, yet they contained no myelin membrane or remnants, which might indicate selective phagocytosis by the phagocytes. The remnant myelin sheath after phagocytosis still had regenerative ability and formed "myelin-like" structures around phagocytes. These results show that microinjection of a growth factor cocktail into the cerebral cortex of rodents can locally activate microglia and induce selective phagocytosis of neural structures by phagocytes. The study was approved by the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences(approval No. IACUC-AMMS-2014-501) on June 30, 2014.     

Clinical Diagnostic Implications of Body Fluid MiRNA in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

Oral cancer, predominantly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is one of the most leading causes of cancers worldwide. Due to a low 5-year survival rate, highly effective methods for the early detection of OSCC are totally needed. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as promising biomarkers, can bring insights into tumorigenesis of oral cancers. However, studies on the accuracy of miRNAs detection in OSCC have inconsistent conclusions, leading us to conduct this meta-analysis. The aim of this study was to systematically review the articles investigating the diagnostic value of miRNAs in OSCC.The PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science were searched (updated to June 11th, 2015) to identify all articles evaluating the diagnostic yield of miRNAs for OSCC. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic parameters were used to assess the performance of miRNAs assays on OSCC detection. Statistical analysis was conducted by employing the R software.The present meta-analysis comprised 23 studies from 10 articles, including 598 OSCC patients and 320 healthy individuals, available for analysis. The summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve was plotted. Meanwhile, the pooled diagnostic parameters and the area under curve (AUC) were calculated based on all included studies. The pooled diagnostic parameters calculated from all 23 studies were as follows: pooled sensitivity of 0.759 (95% CI: 0.701–0.809), pooled specificity of 0.773 (95% CI: 0.713–0.823) and AUC of 0.832, which indicates a relatively high diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs in differentiating OSCC patients from healthy controls. Meanwhile, In addition, subgroup analyses were conducted to access the heterogeneity between studies, which is based on specimen (serum/plasma/blood/saliva/ tissue) and ethnicity (Asian/Caucasian).In summary, our meta-analysis suggests that miRNAs might be used in noninvasive screening tests for OSCC, which needs further large-scale studies to be validated.